Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I had an Outback when I first got my concert grand harp. It fit in there okay, but it wasn’t the best…..you couldn’t just slide it in. You had to manipulate it while leaning in the back door. I know the OP said not vans, but I can’t rave enough about the Dodge Grand Caravan. It also uses flex fuel, and I’m sure would be easier to drive than a huge Ford Flex. It’s pretty maneuverable for a van and feels like you’re driving an SUV rather than a big old bus. I love mine, and the harp slides right in with lots and lots of room to spare…..no moving around to have to do and no seats to remove….they stow in the floor cubbies.
His company is Bell Harp Tech. I paid $1500 for it. That was reasonable for me as I only paid $300 for the harp. 🙂
Very cool. Thanks for the explanation. I don’t think I could ever hoist the base of the harp into the rear myself. Of course, I really don’t have to worry about it. My teacher and I did load 2 harps into her Taurus X last year, but she knew what she was doing, and I can’t really remember how she had them configured. I know both harps went in crown first, though. I’m thinking of something slippery to put in there that the harp can slide over. Cardboard probably is the answer…..now to find a piece big enough. I might also buy a large shiny floor mat from an office supply store I found on line. They have one that is 60″ x 46″ and I know that would fit back there. It has grippers on the back for carpet which would be nice as it would stay in place while the harp slides over it. They are supposed to be sending me a sample so I can see how slidey it is.
I can’t recommend a technician in your area, but I took my Troub I to Tom Bell in Akron, OH who took a good, long look at it, played it, listened to it. It has a beautiful mellow voice. The neck is slightly off from age, and he pointed that out. He told me if it were his harp he would do the work I wanted done. I had oversized pegs installed so that it would hold tuning (because the tuners just slipped from the holes growing too large over the years of tunings), Camac levers and mostly gut strings (except for the low wires). It is an amazing, useful harp. I had the work done in 2007, and it continues to go on strongly. I use it at church regularly, where I keep it, as I have a Webster lever harp and a concert grand Camac at home. If you can find a really good technician, have him/her assess it.
Carl, I did get the Grand Caravan. I got the SXT so I could have the stow and go seats. I knew I could get 2 harps in there from the way it looked when I had my one harp in there, but I would never have guessed FOUR!! I’m amazed. Do you just pad and stack? How do you do that without harming the discs? I know you know what you’re doing, but please tell me how it’s done. Another question….what do you put down on the floor of the van to protect the harps from the hooks in the floor? Some of them seem to protrude a little bit. Thanks for the response…..
Sherri, I play at a large Presbyterian church nearby, and yes I am the handbell director. I have composed for handbells, (and children’s choir) but so far haven’t gotten it together to send anything to a publisher. My plans for that include writing several short pieces for handbells usable on various Sundays in the church year which are possible for 3 octaves and not so horribly long as many are which can be done for offering or a shorter prelude. I love both French romantic and Bach/Buxtehude/Bach-Vivaldi and other Baroque pieces…..but I am so over the organ thing. I keep my skills up, but I’m not driven to dig into any huge pieces right now. I just want to concentrate on the harp and on singing. BTW, I also got my B.Mus. degree when I was in my late 30’s. My parents couldn’t afford to send us to college, so I had to do it on my own and that’s the way things worked out. I was a serious student though, and I think I got my money’s worth so much more than I would have had I gone as a young 20’s student. JMO…..
This most recent lugging of the harp has made me decide that from now on I really AM going to say, “No I don’t need any help at all, but I appreciate your offer.” Never again will I say, ‘Can you just get the doors for me?’ I plan to invest in a few good doorstops…various sizes….and just include them in my “rigging” that I haul along with me.
I just did exactly this — but only 3 movements of it as part of a concert that had various other pieces on the program. I really really knew the pieces well and could split my attention from the score to the director to the strings. I found after the first (of 2) rehearsals with the harp that I really did need to write in the vocal cues, and that helped tremendously. Finally, the approach you personally take to the performance is important. I found that I really needed to put it in my mind that I knew what I was doing, was completely in charge of doing it well and planned to do so when I sat down. The self-confidence really went a long way for me.
I have a B.Mus. in organ, an M. Mus. in voice and I play the piano (of course…..before organ) and flute. I taught music in public schools so in my methods courses I was exposed to some instruments from every family, but I actually pursued flute for a long time….the others not so much. In fact, the violin……I was trying to work on my class assignment and was practicing it while my husband worked on the car in the driveway. He is a splendid, accomplished keyboard artist. He came rushing in, and tried as nicely as he could say it, but said, “If you don’t stop I might have to kill you.” It was pretty grim. Violin is definitely NOT my instrument. But harp is my true love.
Briggsie
I think you’ll love it. Thursday evening I was at the harp in the front of the sanctuary at church for a rehearsal. That Lotus light really came in handy. The customer service is good too. When I bought mine I needed it quickly, and Gary Anderson assured me it would be here on time, and it was.
I played a wedding once with a wedding planner. It was not a pleasant experience. She kept bossing everyone around and acted quite unprofessional in my opinion. The bride’s dad had to step in on more than one occasion for various things she was doing that was driving people nuts. I didn’t have to deal with her on the music thing, as I have known the bride since birth and she just told me to “do my thing.” I hope the planner I saw was an anomaly.
One of my favorite Christmas CD’s………because she is my teacher, Jeff Zook is a friend of mine, and the music is spectacular.
I’m about ready now to play a few movements from Ceremony of Carols with a local church choir. I’m also playing “What Child is This” (Burton) with a flutist and an oboist, and “Some Children See Him” (Bemiss) with a 10-year old girl singer who has the sweetest voice I’ve heard in a long while. Next Sunday instead of playing an organ prelude, I’m planning to play “Advent Meditation” (Loucks) on my Troubadour harp. I planned for Advent to have different arrangements of “Veni Veni Emmanuel” each Sunday. The second Sunday will be my friend playing a jazz arrangement on piano, and the third Sunday will be my own arrangement for 2 flutes, organ and “singing” bells on an open fifth.
Briggsie
PS: Can you tell I am enjoying my church job. The musical resources there are great.I have the 34 LED Lotus light, and I absolutely LOVE it. I just keep it plugged in to charge, and then clip it on the piano music stand at the church where I play both organ and piano on Sundays. It works beautifully to light up an entire score in a very dark corner where the piano is located. I also use it on my harp stand when I need to. Best light I have ever used.
